


The Terrible Prank Gone Horribly Wrong

by PinkGold, Unusually_Curious



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Crying, Dick Grayson is Robin, Hurt Dick Grayson, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Not Ashamed, I'm Sorry, Sad, Sad with a Happy Ending, Young Dick Grayson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-06-02 08:52:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19438075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkGold/pseuds/PinkGold, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unusually_Curious/pseuds/Unusually_Curious
Summary: The Team (minus Kaldur, because if he were there this would never have happened) decides to get back at Robin and Kid Flash for all their pranks. Unfortunately, they choose to hold this revenge prank on Robin's parents' death anniversary.The original author of this fic created a oneshot, which I used as chapter 1 In this work. Please don't give me credit for their work, but I wrote all of the following chapters which were inspired by the oneshot. The author is Daemon12794 on Fanfiction.net if anyone wants to see the original. I used the same title as the oneshot.





	1. Prank Gone Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> I read this story on Fanfiction.net and really liked it, but it didn't have a continuation so I'm writing my own. The link to the original story is:
> 
> https://m.fanfiction.net/s/8003548/1/
> 
> I apologize that my writing style differs from the original author, but I tried to keep the same feelings left by the one shot which is my chapter one.
> 
> ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S NOTE: 
> 
> THIS IS ASSUMING THAT DICK'S PARENTS DIED SOMETIME IN FEB – AND THAT ROY, WALLY AND DONNA ARE AWARE OF DICK AND BRUCE'S IDENTITIES.

THE CAVE

"THIS IS IT! I am TIRED of these two pranking me," yelled Artemis as she stalked into the living room on February 14th , brandishing her arrows which were tipped with hearts.

"What, it's not like they've been pranking only you, they've been doing to all of us," muttered Connor, staring – as usual – at static on the telly.

"Yes, it was only last week that they relabelled all the ingredients in the cupboard…," M'gann added.

Artemis fumed. "We're getting back at them, with something that should really be remembered."

Just then, Zatanna poked her head into the room, "hey guys, what's cooking?"

Artemis grinned in a very Robin-ish way, grabbing M'gann's apron and holding it up like a cloak and said, "JUSTICE."

GOTHAM CEMETERY

Bruce's phone buzzed for the second time.

He was standing in Gotham Cemetery, next to Dick, as they paid respects to Dick's parents. A little back stood Clark, Diana, Barry, Wally, Roy and Donna – all as civilians, all in black.

Dick looked up and gave him a weak smile. "Take the call Bruce. It's fine. But you already know what its about – that big meeting"

"Dick-"

"Go, Bruce. I'll be fine. Besides, if this meeting turns out as we hope it does, will you get me a new bike? Maybe this time in black, with the Robin logo on the side?"

Bruce didn't crack a smile. He knew was Dick was trying to do. He also had ordered the bike two months in advance so that it would arrive in time for Dick's birthday. He squeezed his shoulder, turned around, and left. Clark, Barry and Diana each paid their respects in their own way – with Diana hugging Dick tightly and Barry reminding him that Iris had invited them for lunch that afternoon – and left.

"Guys…" Dick began.

"Hey, you take as long as you want, man, we're not going anywhere," said Wally.

Roy and Donna nodded earnestly.

Dick smiled and turned to face to his parents' graves, sinking back deep into his own thoughts.

THE CAVE

"Perfect. The Wallman and little bird are together." Artemis rubbed her hands with glee.

"Hey, look at that, the satellite's picking up two others – Red Arrow and someone else…" said Zatanna.

"Pfft, collateral damage, Zee."

M'gann clapped her hands, "my first prank! This is so exciting!"

Superboy rolled his eyes, as he moved to type in the co-ordinates into the zeta tube's computer, "location?" he asked.

Zatanna replied,"Gotham. Hey, that's weird… what are they up to in the cemetery?"

Artemis snorted, "probably planning their next attack. Let's go!"

GOTHAM – OUTSIDE THE CEMETERY.

No sooner did they put their plans into action than everything went to hell. Artemis was so eager to get revenge; Zatanna and Megan were so excited, that none of them even bothered to do a recon of what their "victims" were up to. They shot off almost immediately. Superboy trailed behind – he had not bothered to take part in this "revenge prank" or whatever they called it. So instead, he chose to survey the scene. And what he saw, made him ill at ease. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that whatever was going on in that cemetery had little to do with pranking or anything associated with fun in general.

Artemis shifted slightly behind the gravestone she was hiding. She signalled to Zatanna. She was so eager to get back at Robin and Kid Flash that she didn't stop to notice the obvious. But she had made two very smart decisions – in her opinion. One, no powers stuff. We're in civilian area. Batman would have my head. Two, take out the Bird first. He's the brains of the operation.

GOTHAM CEMETERY

Dick had been standing stock-still for over forty five minutes. Not that this behaviour worried the Boy Wonder's companions. Wally knew the guy could just as suddenly get up and knock the crap out of him. Gah, the only guy who can predict my moves.

Roy was staring up and the sky, while Donna was sitting on the grass next to Wally, picking out random blades and scattering it over the speedster's back.

None of them noticed a thing – after all, who would expect anything to happen here.

Artemis signalled to Zatanna once more, jumped out from behind the gravestone and flung the pie straight onto Robin's face shouting , "REVENGE, YOU LITTLE JACKASS" at the top of her voice.

Just at that moment, Superboy came barrelling into the cemetery, shouting, "Wait, Artemis!"

Everyone stood still – Dick, staring at Artemis through a facefull of pie, Wally, Donna and Roy looking utterly bewildered. Zatanna and Megan made themselves visible again, hands on their mouths, realising that something was very, very wrong.

Then only Artemis took in the fact that Wally and Roy were both in black suits, ('Funeral suits, Oh God.') the brunette, whoever she was, was in a sober black dress ('Oh God, oh God, oh God. Artemis what have you done?'). Slowly, slowly, she let her eyes move from Wally and Red Arrow (whose bewildered expression was turning into one of outrage) to Robin.

It was only then that she realised that Robin had no mask on, no sunglasses, nothing. The only thing that stopped her from seeing his face in entirety was, well, the pie. But then she saw his eyes for the first time – and it wasn't the startling, bright (and somehow familiar) blue that shocked her, but the depth of the expression behind those eyes. All at once, she understood why Aqualad held Robin in such high regard – why everyone was just waiting for Robin to take up position of leader.

And not only that… She saw hurt, anger, shock, surprise and a whole lot of other expressions flit across those eyes, but behind it all, she saw a deep sadness. And she knew then that this prank, was very, very ill-timed indeed.


	2. Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Artemis feels terrible for what happened and her mom helps comfort her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the summary sucks, but it's just a transitional chapter from the iriginal work to my true continuation. It also gives readers a feel for how I'll be writing it.
> 
> Please don't hate, I'm doing this because I want to give a continuation to all those who had asked for one but didn't recieveanything.

She couldn't do anything. 

How was she supposed to know that they were visiting someone's grave? 

It's not like she would have known they were there as civilians, right? 

Sure, they were in a graveyard, in Gotham, but still!

This wasn't her fault! 

...right?

Artemis sighed as she looked at the toes of her boots. She was alone in her room at home, hugging her legs as she went through the events of the day. She mentally kicked herself for every sign she ignored or overlooked that this hadn't been a good plan, and groaned as she tapped her forehead to her knees. 

"I really screwed up this time." 

"Artemis? Artemis are you home already?"

"Yeah mom, I'm in here." She smiled weakly through her guilt, feeling the need for comfort as her mother entered the room. her mother frowned in concern and came close so she sat directly in front of her child.

"Artemis, what's wrong?" The girl in question furrowed her brows and hugged her mother tightly as her bottom lip trembled with regret.

"Mom I screwed up big time. Kid mouth and Robin are always playing pranks on me and the others, so I had the brilliant idea of pranking them back. What I didn't know, was that today is the anniversary of the death of Rob's parents." She buried her face in her mother's shoulder, squeezing her a little tighter.

"Oh Artemis…" her mother tightened her own grip around her daughter and pulled her to sit on the arm of her wheelchair. She released the hug to hold hands and looked into her daughter's saddened eyes. "There's no way you could have known about this. Your intentions, while ill-timed, were not terrible. You didn't know." 

Artemis scoffed. "Yeah, well that doesn't change how anyone else feels about it. You should've seen Red Arrow and Kid Mouth, they were furious! Even as civilians they're not the kind of guys you want to piss off." She paused and her expression shifted from worry to sorrow. "And Robin… Oh Robin, I REALLY screwed up. I threw a pie in his face and he didn't even react! He just stood there staring at me, but his eyes. Oh his eyes… there were so many emotions flashing in his eyes that he-" her voice faltered, "he looked broken."

She sniffled as her mother pulled her back into her arms and rubbed her back soothingly. "My beautiful girl. You may think that you've done something unforgivable, and while this could be hard to forgive, you're all friends. You have to stick together and have each other's backs."

"Yeah, totally had Robin's back today."

"Artemis you've told me about Robin before. You said that he's smart, brave, and kind, but you never told me he's unforgiving." 

"Because he's not. Robin has probably forgiven criminals for things they've done to him in the past."

"Then as his friend he'll forgive you too." Artemis pulled away and her mother smiled as she brushed a tear from the child's cheek.

"I'm not saying it will be easy, you have to earn his forgiveness. All I'm saying is not to despair over a friendship that isn't lost. He will forgive you because you are a good person. You made an honest mistake, your friends will see that with time." 

She kissed her daughter on the forehead and received a thankful smile in return. "Thanks mom. I love you."

"I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's not great, but please tell me if you liked it. I love reading comments and I appreciate feedback and tips for how I can improve as a writer.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this short chapter, thanks for reading!


	3. Sadness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically it's just the aftermath of Chapter 1 but it's a hell of a lot better than this summary, I swear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S DOOONE FINALLYYY!!!
> 
> I'm sorry for the wait, you wonderful readers who read my work! This one was much faster than it would have been, had I written it by myself, which brings me to mentioning my co-creator @PinkGold !
> 
> I am proud to say that this was edited by PinkGold here on Archive, please go check 'er out, the stories she posts are fantastic, and she's super friendly! Also, she has 39 to choose from! How amazing is that?
> 
> Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone who gave me kudos on chapter 2 of this fic and a shout out to Icechild for being the first to leave a comment! Comments are what inspire me most to write because it lets me know your thoughts and what you really feel. 
> 
> Thank you for reading my ramblings!
> 
> Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING RECOGNIZABLE IN THIS FANFIC (Other than the squirrel. The squirrel is mine.) (OwO)
> 
> Without further delay, please READ, GIVE KUDOS, AND LEAVE A NICE FRESH LOAD OF REVIEWS/COMMENTS!!!

The Cave

"How could she do that, what was she thinking?" Roy was pissed, "What's wrong with her!"

He walked to the living room and threw a nearby remote at the wall, breaking it into pieces. M'gann and Zatanna looked at each other before the martian approached the man in an attempt to calm him. 

"Red Arrow, please do not hate Artemis. She did not mean to-"

"Didn't mean to?" He roared, "She didn't mean to throw a pie in his face? She didn't mean to get her so-called revenge?"

Zatanna stepped forward, ready to defend M'gann when Wally spoke, his voice much too bitter for such a cheerful soul.

"She got her revenge alright. And she gave so much more."

The room fell silent with the weight of his words, nobody wanting to be the first to speak up as they thought about what had happened.

The Graveyard 

After Roy had chased Artemis from the graveyard, everyone had turned to look at Robin, who was still standing there, looking at where she had been. They all watched silently as he turned away from them all, back to the grave of his parents. They were hesitant to speak, some held their breath as the boy clenched his hands. No one could tell if they were shaking with rage or something else.

"Rob-" 

"Go. Just go." He said quietly, cutting off Zatanna. With hesitation, those who had come with Artemis left. He added to the rest, "All of you."

Wally looked sadly towards his friend and tapped Roy's shoulder as they and Donna slowly left as well. With one more glance at his friend, he sighed.

"Dick, if you wanna talk-"

"It's fine, I know where to find you. Just leave. Please." 

The pain in his friend's voice was hard to hear, but he complied and slowly followed the others. Roy looked back before losing sight of him and his expression reflected the pain he felt for his friend.

The Graveyard - Dick's POV

He turned to look at the graveyard entrance as Wally and the others finally moved out of sight. Once he had privacy from the others, he slowly fell to his knees and took a deep breath. He sat there, beginning to wipe pie out of his face when he noticed a piece of cloth on his parent's headstone. He smiled slightly in thanks to Donna and used it to wipe his face clear of most of the pie. After folding the handkerchief, he placed it on the soft grass and touched the smooth surface of the stone with a small smile. 

"I'm sorry you had to see that mom, dad. She's a nice person, I promise, she probably wanted revenge for all the pranks I've pulled on her and the team." His smile faltered as he dropped his hand. 

"I love you." 

Suddenly, it was as though the whole world had stopped around him. No birds chirped, no breeze shook the trees, no animals were scurrying around in the tall grasses. He sniffled then, in the utter loneliness of silence. Fiddling with the bottom of his shirt, he bit his lip to stop it from trembling even if it was only slight. 

"I miss you so much."

He cried then. Big, heartbroken tears dripped from his long lashes and brushed his cheeks on the way to the earth beneath him. Sound returned to the graveyard as though all present life had been hushed for a moment and continued once more. He inhaled sharply and took a shaky breath, knowing that it was okay to cry but trying to fight the pain anyway. 

He stayed there for a while, not sure for how long, until he noticed footsteps behind him. The man sat down cross-legged beside him and put an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. 

"Hey, Bruce." The man took note of the child's quiet and tightened tone.

"How are you feeling, Richard?" He knew the answer, both of them did. But he asked anyway. 

The tightness drained from him as he allowed himself to be the thirteen year old boy he was, "I miss them."

Bruce smiled with sympathy gained through experience, "It's okay to miss your parents. I miss mine every day."

"Artemis and the others from the team showed up." There was a pause before Bruce answered and he pulled Dick closer to hold the boy almost in his lap.

"I know." He hesitated, "Superboy gave me a rundown of what happened when I got to the cave to check on everyone. I figured that you'd still be here after what he told me."

Richard leaned his head on Bruce and wiped his eyes slowly, finding comfort in being near the man. 

"What should I do?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm really mad at what Artemis did, but I can't decide how I should feel. I don't think she meant to hurt me." 

Bruce looked at him thoughtfully, "Why do you say that?"

“The look on her face once she realized why we were here said everything."

"How do you mean?" 

"It was written all over her face, she regrets what she did. I just think it'll be hard to forgive her right now." He looked up at Bruce as he ran his fingers through the boy's hair. 

"I think that's alright." He smiled kindly at the boy he loved as his own before he continued, "I know you don't hate her, you two are friends. The team you have is resilient, I know your friendship is strong enough to power through this too. If what you said is true, then she feels bad for what she's done and will try to make it better." 

Their eyes met for a brief moment as Richard scoffed, "What kind of a friend pranks someone in a graveyard of all places."

He paused as Dick looked away, eyes catching a squirrel scuttling up a tree, "I know something like this could be hard to forgive, but think of it from Artemis' perspective." 

Dick thought for a moment and nodded, looking at the ground. 

"She didn't know about my parents and I prank her all the time. She was obviously trying to get back at me."

"Yes, and?" The man prompted gently.

"She didn't mean to hurt my feelings or cause any bad blood." He sighed, knowing Bruce was right. The man smiled, proud of his son.

After a while, the sun began to lower towards the horizon and Richard knew they would have to leave soon. Against the will of his heavy heart, he stood and turned to the man. "We should go. The team is probably worried about me." 

Bruce nodded and stood, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder as they began walking. "Let's go together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think??? Remember to leave me comments, I'm hungry for feedback. 
> 
> Also, don't forget to check out the creator PinkGold!
> 
> THANK YOU!


	4. Hello? Anyone Reading?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just wondering if I should continue this... :(

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feeling bad, not happy, unsure if I should continue this, family's ignoring me, bad stuff going on, etc.
> 
> This is basically a shitpost of me whining like a little bitch, but please read it anyway.

Hi whoever is reading this,

I just wanted to ask if I should continue this story. I can't tell if anyone is enjoying it or not and I haven't heard from you guys at all.

Is anyone reading? Does anyone want to read the story? Do you have any ideas, tips or pointers you want to share? Do you have anything to say at all?

At this point in time the story has gotten 684 hits, 27 kudos, and 3 comments not made by me. One person other than myself or PinkGold has commented on the story.

Am I too slow with updates? Did I do something wrong? Is the content not what you were hoping for? Can I do something better?

Please, talk to me!

As many readers and writers know, comments and reviews are what keeps our motivation up. I want to know your thoughts, your feelings. 

Chapter 3 of this story made me so happy to write, I was stoked to hear what people might think and I honestly don't think I did that great on it anymore. I got many more hits since I posted chapter 1 & 2, but the comments and Kudos didn't raise very much.

I'm so desperate to hear from my readers that I don't care if it's just to say that I'm a garbage writer or something. Just say something, please.

I don't mean to sound like I'm begging, but my confidence in writing is seriously lacking and I'm trying to hse fanfiction as a way to increase my skill and arsenal of what I can write. Chapter 3 was hard for me, that's why I was so proud of it... now I don't know if I should be. :'(

I'm sorry for rambling, I had originally intended to let y'all know I'm able to write now that I'm done with school but I have writers block. I don't know what to write next to continue this if you all want more. I'm just feeling really down and hoped that I, just MAYBE, had gotten a comment on here. 😞

Anyway, I need to sleep so have a good day or night depending on your timezone.

P.s. Please, if you read this, talk to me. I'm not going to bite you or tear your arms off, I AM human.

P.p.s. I'm sorry if I make anyone feel bad, sympathy was not my intention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I don't want to make anyone comment or leave kudos out of pitty or something.
> 
> Even if you dislike it, please tell me why.
> 
> I guess I'm just craving an interaction with my readers? 
> 
> My reason is selfish, I just want to feel good about my writing. I'm very self-conscious.
> 
> Enjoy your lives, strangers of the internet.

**Author's Note:**

> Please do not give me credit for chapter 1 because I did not write it. The credit goes to the original author, Daemon12794.


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